Boys basketball: Scouting Schaumburg vs. Deerfield
Waukegan Class 4A sectional semifinal
Schaumburg (16-11) vs. Deerfield (25-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. today
Probable starters
SCHAUMBURG (Coach Matt Walsh) DEERFIELD (Coach Bret Just)
Player Ht. Yr. PPG Pos. Player Ht. Yr. PPG
Javon McDonald 5-9 Jr. 6.0 G Ryan Davis 6-1 Sr. 6.6
Declan Geraghty 6-0 Sr. 11.2 G David Panter 6-3 Sr. 3.5
Joe Infusino 5-8 Sr. 4.1 G/F Adam Rhum 6-5 Sr. 7.0
Kurt Kempema 6-4 Jr. 3.1 F Oren Schwartz 6-1 Sr. 7.9
Chris Baker 6-6 Sr. 2.1 C/F Duje Dukan 6-8 Sr. 22.9
How they got here: No. 13 seed Schaumburg won its regional by beating No. 19 Grant 54-35, No. 3 Fremd 70-58 and No. 11 Hoffman Estates 44-30; No. 2 Deerfield won its regional by beating No. 15 Highland Park 39-37, No. 10 Libertyville 56-37.
Outlook: Both teams have one player who averages in double figures - the difference being the Wisconsin-bound Dukan's output is just 3 points shy of Schaumburg's current starting lineup and he poses a big dilemma with his ability to score inside and outside (42 3s) and rebound (9.3 per game). "We're really going to have to do our work before he gets the ball," said Walsh, who said he will use Kempema and Geraghty as the primary defenders on Dukan. "When he gets the ball we certainly have to be help-concious. What the other players do on the floor is as important as the ones guarding him." But everyone else in Deerfield's starting lineup and top reserve Max Burgess (4 ppg) is capable of coming through with double-figure scoring. Hidden in Schaumburg's offensive output in a four-game winning streak has been 6-5 senior Glenn Frost (8.7 ppg) scoring a career-high 18 in the regional final win and 13 in the upset of Fremd and McDonald averaged 12 ppg in the regional. Sophomore Christian Spandiary, who missed the first 16 games with a shoulder injury, averages 5.4 points. "The things that stand out are how hard they play, how they defend and what you don't always see in high school teams, how well they're playing within their roles right now," Just said. "We have the main guy, but obviously they have a couple of different guys. With Schaumburg you don't know if it's going to be Geraghty, Frost or McDonald." Deerfield's entire starting lineup saw starts as it finished 12-15 last year but the only losses this year for the Central Suburban North co-champs were twice to Waukegan (the second 93-87 in OT for the CSL title) and to Glenbrook North. It survived a tough regional opener against a Highland Park team that had won 13 of 15. "We're looking forward to going back to the 'Dog Pound,'" said Just, who is in his second year as Deerfield's head coach. "This group has treated every game like it's the most important game and it shows in our record." And Schaumburg's record and seed matters little at this point. "We're certainly confident right now and looking forward to making some more noise," Walsh said. Schaumburg is 10-2 in sectional semifinals and has won its last seven since a 1995 loss to Larkin at Buffalo Grove.
What's next: The winner plays in Friday's 7:30 p.m. title game against top-seed Waukegan (24-4), which won Tuesday's semifinal 68-52 over No. 5 Stevenson (21-8).